Output of oil and gas from fields outside China would count
for 60 percent of the company’s total production by the end of
the decade, state-run Xinhua quoted Chairman Jiang Jiemin as
saying. Both Jiang and Zhou spoke at the company’s annual work
conference that opened today in Beijing, Xinhua reported.

Overseas output of oil and gas reached 104 million tons in
2012, 15 million tons less than its annual target, CNPC said in
a newsletter on Jan. 17. That would leave production from
overseas fields accounting for 37 percent of CNPC’s total
production in 2012, based on the total figure released today.

CNPC’s overseas production was affected by political
instability in countries such as Sudan and Syria in 2012, Zhou
said, according to Xinhua. “Geopolitical, security and policy
risks will be on the rise in 2013, making it very difficult for
CNPC to maintain stable production at overseas projects,” he
said.